Cargo airships offer fhe only year-round connections to many remote areas in the world. However, they face a range of technological challenges. Major ones are buoyancy control and ground handling. Hybrid airships or variable buoyancy technology are being developed to accommodate these challenges which, if successful, will allow airships to land in areas without the need for ground handling infrastructure. An alternative that exchanges ballast such as water equal to the weight of cargo needs access to the ballast on the ground where the cargo is transferred. Military cargo handling requirements need to be part of an airship's self-contained equipment, whereas for civilian transport ground handling equipment is needed as part of the infrastructure of a remote location handling an airship. Such an approach increases an airship's payload potential.
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